Uncle of 11-year-old Palestinian said to be killed by Border Guard police officer slams security forces; posters of Ahmed Musa posted across Palestinian village; dead child turns into symbol of resistance to West Bank fence
By Ali Waked
To view original article, published by Ynet on the 30th July, click here
A general strike has been called at the Palestinian village of Naalin Wednesday to protest the killing of 11-year-old boy Ahmed Mussa. IDF troops blocked the main entrance to the village, while businesses in Naalin closed their doors ahead of the funeral, scheduled for Wednesday. Meanwhile, weeping local residents gathered around the Mussa home and slammed the IDF and Israel’s security forces.
The women standing near the home kept repeating “they have no God,” while wiping away their tears. Mussa’s uncle, Hosni Yusuf Mussa, told Ynet that he fails to understand why a Border Guard police officer would shoot at a child.
“He was a young boy playing with his friends. How could he threaten the soldiers?” he said. “They’re just kids who saw a march against the fence and joined in. To come back dead and without a head shows the cruelty of the soldiers.”
‘A grand lie’
Mussa said he believed the killing was a message to protestors in a bid to end the ongoing demonstrations against the West Bank security fence. He added that he does not believe in filing a lawsuit against Israel.
“A lawsuit won’t make a difference and a trial won’t make a difference,” he said. “At most, the soldiers will put on a show…the judges release (the soldiers) immediately…what they’re doing is one grand lie, a show for the media.”
Meanwhile, posters of the dead child have been posted across the village, and slogans pertaining to his death have been scribbled on walls – an honor normally reserved for wanted Palestinians killed by the IDF. Despite his young age, the slogans say Mussa is a symbol of resistance to the security fence and vow to “continue his path.”
Mussa’s 10-year-old friends said they were trying to remove barbed wire placed by the army when a jeep arrived and forces started to fire.
“Suddenly, we saw the martyr falling and one bullet in his head,” said Mussa’s friend Ahmed Saadat. He admitted that the children then started hurling stones at the forces, with one of them hitting a police officer in the head.